Friday, June 27, 2014

While on Facebook this morning, I was reading about another Norcold refrigerator recall.

Our refrigerator was replaced at Lazy Days when we purchased our motor home, so it’s less than three years old. The previous recall had been done at that time.

I didn’t know they had two different recalls, and I thought we were okay, but decided to check it out just in case.

I went to the Norcold website and learned there is another recall for the high temperature sensor. I’m not exactly sure when this one came out, but it’s a good idea to check if you have a Norcold Refrigerator.

Luckily, ours didn’t fall in the numerical series that needed any repairs and I can stop worrying!

We will probably end up replacing our Norcold with a residential refrigerator one day. I have read about too many Rv fires because of these things and it concerns me.

We put in an automatic Halon fire extinguisher a while back. It’s mounted in the outside compartment of the refrigerator and is set to go of if the temperature gets too hot. I’m not sure how well it will work in the event of a fire, but maybe it could buy a little extra time if needed.

I haven’t posted a blog lately because we have done nothing blog worthy, other than a short trip to the zoo the other morning. It’s been too hot for outdoor activities, so other than morning and evening bike rides, we’re staying in the air conditioning most of the time.

We have free WiFi here at Quail Run, so we’ve been binge watching old Tv series. We just finished watching Orange is the New Black. Its well done with good acting, but boy if you get offended easily or your shock value is low, you might not want to watch it! It’s a true story about a woman in a low security women's prison.

We just started Scandal. It’s starting out to be good. We find ourselves watching too much Tv when we’re in Tampa during the summer. There are beaches, lakes and rivers nearby, but we just can’t seem to get excited about braving the heat and humidity. So, here we sit.

We’re hoping to get out of town pretty soon and head back to the mountains. Maybe soon after the July 4th week-end.

Friday, June 20, 2014

There is a lot to do in the Tampa Bay area. The beautiful blackwater Hillsborough River is nearby. There are several crystal clear spring fed rivers, and of course Busch Gardens, Disney World, the beaches, and much, much more.

So what have we been doing? Cleaning closets, our basement storage bins, and those other little “life” tasks that we always tend to procrastinate when we’re “on vacation.” We define being on vacation when we’re anywhere but the Tampa area.

Al got the motor home roof cleaned and waxed a week or two ago. We have a fiberglass roof and apparently it was chalky and dirty because we kept getting gray marks running down the sides of the motor home. He got up on the roof with a mop and cleaned it, then on put a coat of Meguiar’s Cleaner . Our neighbor Pat, loaned him her orbital polisher and it did a great job and made short work of the job.

We are hoping this will last a year, but I’m guessing it will need to be done again in 6 months or so, since we spend so much time in sunny locations. I’ll let you know. This was the first time we used this Meguiars product. We heard good things about it and it’s for marine use so it should hold up pretty well. I’ll let you know.

Once he got that done, we started cleaning the streaks from the sides of the coach.

Since it’s hard to wash a rv in most campgrounds, we use a product called The Solution. Rick recommended ita few years back. It’s a waterless product that you spray on, and wipe off with microfiber towels. Once we tried it, we’ve never used anything else. In fact, I don’t believe we have ever actually washed this motorhome in the three years we have had it.

What I like about The Solution, is that you don’t get swirl marks. I’ve watched the professional RV cleaners come into the park cleaning other rigs. They use brushes and I always see swirls in the paint when they leave.

This product seems to lift the dirt off and doesn’t cause any swirls in the paint.

This is what they say on the website:

How it WorksThe Solution packs hi-tech cleaning chemicals and protectants into one super-convenient product; completely eliminating water, soap, hoses, Chamois, buckets and waxes. Just spray on the entire car including windows, chrome and mirrors, and wipe it off with MicroFiber or a cotton terrycloth.

We use it for the entire coach, including the windows and rims. It works very well for removing the infamous Florida Love Bugs too. It’s real easy to just do touch ups on the dirty areas. You don’t have to reserve an entire day to do the whole coach. We find the two of us can easily do the entire coach in an hour or so.

No, I do not work for the company and no, we don’t get compensated. I just like the product and like to pass on good products. What I like best about it, is that it’s quick and easy, just spray on, and wipe off. I use a LOT of microfiber towels though because I don’t want a dirty towel scratching the finish of the coach.

If you’re interested in the product, HERE is where I order it. It’s shipped from Oregon, I believe.

Another project I intend to do very soon is back up my computer.

Rick, the computer guru of blogland, posted some very good information on backing up your computer through the Windows 8.1 operating system. Apparently, it’s very easy with this operating system. I think I’m going to buy a new/clean external hard drive first (just in case I screw it up, I won’t lose my photos I have stored). :)

Go HERE to read about it on Rick’s blog. If you have Windows 7, he did an earlier post on Win 7.

Recently, I’ve joined a few Rv groups on Facebook. One is of these sites is for full timers. Mostly what I see are people in the early planning states or becoming fulltimers. Wow, is it an eye-opener!

It seems that there are a lot of young people, many with children who are planning on becoming “fulltimers.” Many of them seem to have some romantic notion that living in a rv will solve all of their problems. Many appear to have NO money, no jobs, and no clue.

I suppose much of this is because of the bad economy, and they have nowhere else to go. It’s sad, but sometimes funny.

Here is an example of one post I read.

“ok.....we have finally bought a travel trailer....we will be parking it on a lot with no hook ups.....I think we have the water thing worked out.....planning on buying a generator for elect.....I know nothing about generators....do they run constantly? or only as they are needed? is it better to run the frig/freezer on gas or elect? we need all the help and advice we can get....as our trailer will be here next few days...help!!”

Yikes….boon-docking permanently. I’m not sure they have considered sewer issues. There are a lot like that, but the ones I worry about most are the ones who have young children. Some plan to set up in a Rv park and stay, but many are planning on traveling and looking for jobs as they go. I believe many don’t have a spare dime for any emergencies.

As we all know, living in an Rv is not all fun and games. I wish them well.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

We have some sort of low pressure system out in the gulf, so we’ve been getting rain several times throughout the day. This has been going on for about a week now, so we’re getting tired of it. So far nothing severe, so I guess we shouldn’t complain. This time of year, these systems can develop into a hurricane, so I guess we’d better shut up and quit complaining!

We took Mom to see the cardiologist on Wednesday. She increased the dosage on one of her medications, and it seems that it may be helping her with the “spells” she often complains about. I sure hope so. I am now thinking these spells may just be the acid reflux, so if we can find some relief from that, maybe we can get her feeling better. I didn’t see much point in visiting a cardiologist but I’m glad we did. The doctors all seem to be working together to figure things out, but it’s difficult because she can’t explain the spells, only to say they make her feel really bad.

I felt fine all day, but later in the day, I felt a burning in my chest and throat area, like bad indigestion. I was wondering if it was something I had eaten, but it got worse, then I started getting very nauseous and sicker and sicker. I was hoping it was something I ate, but after having chills, and aching joints, I think I might have picked up a bug of some sort. I spent a good 24 hours in bed. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been that sick and I sure hope Mom doesn’t catch it. I decided not to tell her I was sick, because for sure she’d get it then. :)

Today starts a week of kitty sitting for one of our neighbors. They have 4 cats, a golden retriever and a Yorkie. The dogs went to a kennel. They intended on leaving the cats home with some food and water out and a family member would come once or twice to check on them. That worried me, so I volunteered us to watch the cats at their place. It’s hot in Florida this time of year and if the a/c should fail, they could come home to four dead kitties. It’s easier for us to take care of them, then for me to worry the entire week. Now they can go on their cruise and not worry. They are right across the street, so it’s no trouble to walk over and check on them, and the kitties are very sweet, so we will enjoy it.

Nothing much going on, nothing much to write about. We would love to be back in the mountains for the 4th of July, but I’m not sure that’s going to work. In the meantime, we’re keeping busy around here.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The days have been hot and sticky, so we spend our days mostly inside except for early morning bike rides. We heard about a nice bike trail near the campground, so that is our new favorite place to ride.

We haven’t seen much wildlife on the trail, and I guess we need to get an earlier start.

We did see this handsome fellow though.

Evidently he sees a lot of people, because he went about his business, despite me snapping pictures of him. They usually move off it they see people.

He/she is a gopher tortoise. Look at that smile.

We are wearing helmets on our bike rides now, despite arguments from Al.

We are still trying to get chores completed. When we are in the Keys, we feel like we’re “on vacation” and when we’re in the mountains, we feel like we’re “on vacation” too, so we end up procrastinating until the projects mount up. Of course, we’re not killing ourselves. Between happy hour at 6 and nappy hour after lunch, we’re checking things off the list slowly. We work better under pressure!

Today and Friday we have to take Mom to some doctor appointments, so that pretty much shoots those days.

We had a dry spell for about a week with no afternoon showers, but they started up again the past few afternoons. We lost power twice yesterday and the sky looked pretty scary for a little while. Fortunately, the storm veered around us, so we didn’t get anything real severe. The local weatherman reported that there were 16,000+ bolts of lightning in the area during that storm. I’m not sure how they know that, but that’s a lot of lightning.

Florida is the lightning capitol of the world, and more people get struck by lightning here than anywhere else. It still amazes me how many people go outside when lightning is nearby. You can get struck by lightning if it’s within 14 miles of your location, and that is why you hear about people getting hit by lightning on a clear blue day. That happens frequently here in the Tampa area.

Do you have the Weatherbug app on your phone? Do you know the app has a “spark alert” that tells you how far the nearest lightning is from your location?

Do you go outside when lightning is nearby?

Two days ago a bolt of lightning struck an apartment complex nearby and started a huge fire. Unfortunately, its a common occurrence here in the bay area.

We saw a pretty double rainbow after the storm passed.

We have deer and turkey behind our site, but no otters or fox like we did last year.

There are two separate batches of young turkeys. Last night they were on our lot until they saw me come out with my camera and they flew off. I was surprised they could fly so young.

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

It’s rainy season, it’s hurricane season, it’s hot, it’s humid and Florida is not where we want to be right now. At least not this part of Florida, but we wouldn’t mind being in the Keys right now.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, so we have 6 months of that and a good 4 months of rainy season.

Yep, we’re dreaming of heading back to the mountains. We aren’t sure exactly when we will be leaving. We still have plenty we need to do around here, including visiting with my Mom and going with her to some doctors appointments. Our plans are in jello.

We’ve taken Mom to doctors appointments the past two days and the latest doctor has an idea of what is causing the “spells” she complains of. She can’t articulate exactly what the spells feel like, so it makes it difficult for the doctors to help her. The pulmonary doctor yesterday thinks it could be an esophageal spasm. It sounds like a good possibility, so we have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in a few weeks.

In the meantime, we’re making the best out of being in the Tampa area, and enjoying riding our new bikes. Once we get up to Georgia, we won’t have all the nice flat paved trails like we do here. The Tampa Bay area has miles and miles of trails all over the three counties, so their are no shortage of trails to ride for any kind of riding you want to do.

We have been out to nearby Flatwoods Park a few times. They have over 11 miles of paved trail, with several water stations along the trail. It’s paved, smooth, and wide. There are also multiple off road trails right off the main trail.

I’ve been having problems getting comfortable on my bike seat. It seemed fine when I tested it but not so fine after a few miles. I don’t understand why someone with plenty of her own padding, has so much trouble finding a bicycle seat that doesn’t feel like I’m sitting on a rock! Al, who has very little padding, has no problem with any bike seat he sits on. It’s not fair!

We’ve made two 8.4 mile rides at Flatwoods, but I suffered most of the ride and was very glad when we got back to the car! It’s a one way trail, so once you start, you are pretty much committed.

The trail was really nice on Friday with very few people. We saw quite a few turkey, some bluebirds, a hawk and a rabbit.

On Saturday, there were a lot more people, so the we didn’t see any wildlife.

We haven’t been back to Flatwoods, but we’ve been riding around the park, trying to get used to the seat. Some people say I will just have to get used to the seat, but others say I might need a more padded seat. Right now, I have a new seat and we’re heading out this morning to give it a try.

Pat and Ron, our friends and neighbors here at Quail Run, made a deal at Camping World to trade in their beautiful 40 foot Phaeton for a beautiful 40 foot Landmark 5th wheel. They are planning on staying here permanently so they didn’t see much sense in maintaining that big diesel engine. They intend to buy a small rv for travels.

Yesterday, Camping World picked up the coach and brought the 5th wheel back to their site.

Of course, I had to document the move!

It was interesting to see how a 5th wheel is set up.

Murphy the dog had fun tearing up his new toy when no one was watching. I’m not sure if this look was the look of a guilty or a proud dog!